The invention relates to a materials and methods of leak detection in a fluid system.
Leak detection methods have been developed to analyze fluid systems, such as climate control systems (e.g., heating, cooling, ventilating, and air conditioning systems), hydraulics, engine oil systems, automatic transmission systems, fuel systems, brake systems, or radiator coolant systems, using dyes. Some methods employ emissive substances, such as, for example, fluorescent or phosphorescent dyes that are added to the refrigerants and/or lubricants of a climate control system.
Leaks can be detected by observing fluorescence of the dye at leak sites resulting from excitation of the dye with a light source having particular illumination characteristics, such as illumination wavelength or intensity. Suitable light sources for use in fluorescence detection emit light of wavelengths suitable to excite the dye and cause light emission from the dye, which is at a greater wavelength than the excitation wavelength. In general, the dyes fluoresce brightly when excited by light in the 190 to 700 nanometer wavelength range. A variety of systems have been developed to introduce a leak detection dye into air conditioning systems, including injectors that place fluid compositions containing the dye into an operational air conditioning system.